Chairman John Conyers, Rep. William Delahunt, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, Rep. Bobby Scott, Thomas Blanton and others in government appear to remember what the First Amendment and the American promise is all about and said so in sane and measured words - kudos, gentlemen; America needs your voices now.

After locking up Bradley Manning in solitary confinement for 7 months (a condition most of the rest of the world views as torture), they are now aiming for crushing his mind with a plea bargain if he attests that Julian "conspired" with him to get him to obtain the documents and films Bradley gave to Wikileaks. Here's the info on that [The Independent] and a story from Wired.

So, the release of millions of documents detailing the systemic abuse and misrepresentation of information to me by my government is somehow a conspiracy to commit computer hacking and steal classified documents?!?! Surely that is a clear example of the use of an empty "boogeyman" triggerword to generate hysteria and emotional response; it is the black art of psyops and classic agitprop.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

MEDIA ANALYSIS

This blog is ostensibly about art; it so happens that my art intersected with life last spring in 'State of Mind [SLurl]," an installation at Four Bridges Project [weblink] which has become more relevant since its opening. It is also a study and critique of art; namely, that of using the media as a propaganda machine and Delphi method to gauge the public social barometer as to what is "acceptable" and a prime example of the Overton Window effect, a sophisticated method of manipulating a debate.

These are certainly valid grounds for examination of the artistic merits of this issue, as this is the outcome of the first generation raised on mass media and television and is strictly McLuhanesque in its conduct and theoretical underpinnings. We can study not only the story but how the story is being manufactured and delivered.

We know the Crown Prosecution Service lied to Julian's attorneys and told them it was Sweden who asked them to ensure Julian be held in prison and not released on bail. We know that certain Senators and Congressmen calling for extra-legal means of dealing with Julian Assange are a shameful insult and traitorous to the ideals and aspirations of the founders of this country.

We also know much more about the shadow politics behind most news outlets by their stance, factual reportage and rumor/op-ed fulminating on this issue. I mean, we always knew who Fox News was beholden to, but some surprising informational links have surfaced in this story.

We're seeing the attempts to discredit Wikileaks as "not a legitimate journalistic outlet" and therefore not subject to the protections of the First Amendment by old-guarde media, who are scared poopless by the net. We're watching the responsibility of an organization being shifted to one individual because it's easier to prosecute/persecute an individual. We're watching informational overload used to shift a debate from issues to personalities. We're watching the production of a cover story.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

This is the Information Revolution and you are smack-dab in the middle of it. This is not a textbook case study or a "what if"; this revolution is right where you are sitting now.